Where will our kids find work?

I've been thinking about education lately, and today I found myself daydreaming about what I would do if I went back to work.  Back to work for me would mean back to high school teaching.  Last time, I had senior Mathematics but what if I was given to opportunity to teach Business?

I have the luxury of this daydream since I have a teaching qualification and a position waiting for me at a state school for when I decide that my children are old enough not to need me full time.

It occurs to me, though, that many people do not have this option.  People are not only asking, "Where can I get a job", but, "Do I HAVE To Get A Job?"  It seems that news of companies doing massive lay-offs and downsizing is occurring more frequently.  Also, many women are finding that their careers do not suit them anymore after having raised one or more children.  Australian companies are moving offshore to take advantage of lower employee wages and less "red tape". Even jobs that used to be safe, (ie the public service) are being axed as the Queensland government slashes its spending in a bid to pull the budget into surplus.

All of these things indicate to me that our children are in trouble!

Where are they going to find work?

Schools and the education system seem to me to be sending the wrong messages to our kids.  They condition them to believe that if they work hard, they can get a good job and will be well set up financially.  This is simply not true.

Schools value further education (different from self-education) and push kids to get into university.  If this does not suit, the only other option you are lead to believe that you have, is to get a job.  Many of our kids, whilst being aware that businesses exist, would not even consider that running a business is even an option to them straight out of high school.  Most would not be able to tell you what investing means, let alone different ways of achieving this.

I believe that the only way many of our young people are going to get employment and indeed financial security is to create it for themselves.  This means developing their own businesses and income streams.  Schools need to catch up on this idea and teach this as a legitimate option to our students.

So what would I do if I went back to work and had the opportunity to teach business? I'd start with the end goal in mind.  My end goal and final assessment would be to have each child making money from their own business.  I'd set up milestones for the students to achieve throughout the year, and only after that would I look at the curriculum.  I'm sure the Business curriculum has a lot of information about what students need to know about business, so I'm sure it would work in well.

For now and until that time (if it ever occurs) I am going to set up as many income streams as I can so that I can teach from personal experience.  Whether or not I get back into a high-school classroom does not matter.  I will learn, apply and pass on my knowledge in the simplest possible way.

I have already begun with a book which outlines the different types of businesses and investments.  If you agree that our teenagers need to be aware of these options, get to Amazon and download "Do I HAVE To Get A Job? - Business And Investment Options You Can Begin At Any Age" while it is still at the low price of $2.99